Glenside is a neighborhood of residences and commercial/institutional establishments. Glenside straddles the border of Abington and Cheltenham Townships. Homes are found that were built circa 1730s through 2004. These are a combination of detached singles, semi-attached singles, row homes and condominiums. Median age is circa 1940. Median lot size of detached singles is slightly less than one-quarter of an acre. Many of the larger homes (over 3,000 sq. ft.) were built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, some by noted architects like Horace Trumbauer.

Historic Notes

Glenside actually started in 1888, when the Glenside Post Office was founded. No one is really sure why the post office came to be named Glenside. One version goes that someone from a group connected with an early real estate developer, Martin Luther Kohler, suggested the name because "it looked well in advertising." Soon after the post office opened, the railroad station, which had formerly been called Abington, had its name changed to Glenside. – Glenside-Wyncote [pp 9].

The following is an excerpt from a real estate property prospectus published in the 1920s. 'Glenside well deserves its name as it is made up of several pleasant valleys and hills comprising the watershed of the Whitemarsh and Huntington Valleys in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. The word "Glen" suggests murmuring streams flowing through shaded valleys and many of these exist in this area. The word "side" suggests the pleasant elevation overlooking the watercourses—and this is also true. Add to these two the beauty of the wooded hills and fertile valleys and you have Glenside—a natural beauty spot.' – Glenside-Wyncote [pp 27].

Reference: Glenside-Wyncote, A Pictorial History, published by the Glenside Library, Glenside PA, 1999